Potential issues with 100k 5 year old motor ?

property.advert

One of my cars is a low mileage (35k) 7 years old Vauxhall Astra (I've owned it since it was 3 years old) and some parts have needed replacing this year (o/s wheel bearing, window motor, rear light) which have obviously failed due to age and not excessive use.

However I want (potentially) to buy a luxurious (originally £35k) 5 year old car but it has 103k miles on the clock.

It has a big 3.5L motor, full Nissan main dealer service history, all the paperwork, etc. I've checked the service history against Glyn Hopkin and it seems A1, due another small service at 112k miles.

The price is around £8.5k which is, I think, priced very keenly.

I'm not worried that 100k is end of life but the start of regular big bills. For instance, new discs and pads all round comes in at about £700 if you go to Nissan.

The car is another Murano but this time the 2009 new shape.

So would 100k worry you ?

GolfBravo

property.advert wrote: »

...priced very keenly = start of regular big bills.

There you go.

property.advert wrote: »

For instance, new discs and pads all round comes in at about £700 if you go to Nissan.

Discs and pads - look at their condition, not mileage. Some need replacing at 20K, others at 40K. And why would you want to go to a main dealer with a 5 year old car anyway?

property.advert wrote: »

So would 100k worry you ?

It really depends on the overall condition of the car. 100K miles is not a magical number where cars just blow up. And neither is 62,137 miles (100K kms).

property.advert

GolfBravo wrote: »

There you go.

Discs and pads - look at their condition, not mileage. Some need replacing at 20K, others at 40K. And why would you want to go to a main dealer with a 5 year old car anyway?

Last changed 30k ago (at 72k) so I'm factoring in the cost of another change.

Why a main dealer ? Why not ? Full main dealer history so far and though I know the extra cost, I don't know anyone else and when I spoke to the main dealer near me, they were quite open to negotiation.

Certainly for the Vauxhall, I get fixed price this and that, 30% off (Vauxhall Masterfit) and will look for something similar for the Nissan.

Pick up at my house, serviced and returned is something I value and if something ever did go wrong, there is goodwill and someone to sue or threaten who will stand behind their product.

I do take the point that if I knew a good independent, things might be different and I may look into that.

It really depends on the overall condition of the car. 100K miles is not a magical number where cars just blow up. And neither is 62,137 miles (100K kms).

Very true. I was only giving a real world correlation to the low mileage Vauxhall which has needed work through age and not mileage.

I understand that 100k of motorway miles at 20k a year with full history is better than perhaps 60k stop and start with little or no history.

As an idea of how it was cared for, the tyres are £200 a pop and new rubber on front, 10k driven on rear. Not the usual Bridgestone Dueller cheapo tyres you often see.

The saying "maintained regardless of cost" rings a distant bell.

forgotmyname

I wouldnt buy it until it had at least 120,000 miles on it and the price reduced accordingly. Below 100,000 wont put most people off but when it passes that number many people are put off.
By the time its got past 120,000 and heading to 130,000 even fewer people will want them. So the price comes down.

Main dealer servicing will reflect the cars original £35k price tag. So expect bills to match. Smaller independant garage or a specialised one should do the same job for less.

Discs and pads etc can be required on a car with less than 20,000 miles. So unless its something you want to buy and resell without any service costs your going to need to take a set of overalls and go over everything.

Discs, Pads, Tyres and general servicing will be normal.

property.advert

forgotmyname wrote: »

I wouldnt buy it until it had at least 120,000 miles on it and the price reduced accordingly. Below 100,000 wont put most people off but when it passes that number many people are put off.
By the time its got past 120,000 and heading to 130,000 even fewer people will want them. So the price comes down.

Main dealer servicing will reflect the cars original £35k price tag. So expect bills to match. Smaller independant garage or a specialised one should do the same job for less.

Discs and pads etc can be required on a car with less than 20,000 miles. So unless its something you want to buy and resell without any service costs your going to need to take a set of overalls and go over everything.

Discs, Pads, Tyres and general servicing will be normal.

It is generally unloved due to low mpg (claimed 19mpg in town) but that doesn't bother me. Neither really does the main dealer versus independent servicing cost.

What does worry me is the big ticket items which come with cars that have done serious mileage. I mean, just what stress does 100k of motorway mileage put on a 3.5L engine ? Brakes, tyres and regular servicing are a given but more serious stuff, specifically required because of the high mileage is what I'm concerned about.

I suppose I can sum it up by stating that the locks and window motors are 5 years old but the engine, chassis and such stuff are not only 5 years old but also 100k miles old, which might be akin to 10 years old for an average mileage car.

bigjl

One of the biggest savings with running an expensive car is with stuff like brakes.

Get the parts from Euro or similar

Get them fitted by a decent specialist, i personally use Elite in Rainham.

My Jag has not had brakes fitted by the dealer since it was new.

Main dealer said it needed rear pads urgently at 87k. I had a look myself and eventually had them done at 98k and they still had another 10k in them i reckon.

Not sure i would be that interested in any expensive Nissan other than a Pathfinder.

They depreciate badly and some spares are expensive due to lack of availability apart from Nissan, a common issue with cars that sell in small numbers.

I have read that the 3.5 Nissan engine can be very hard on its oil.

Not sure if the engine is identical but i would think it will be similar.

whitelabel

Suspension arms/bushes , wheel bearings, catalytic converters, head gasket seals, oxygen sensors, water pumps, radiators, are all things that could start to go

Check out an extended warranty policy and see what isn't covered... That's usually what could go

arcon5

Do you even need a specialist for things like pads and discs? Fitting is pretty much the same with most cars anyway and not exactly difficult

property.advert

whitelabel wrote: »

Suspension arms/bushes , wheel bearings, catalytic converters, head gasket seals, oxygen sensors, water pumps, radiators, are all things that could start to go

Check out an extended warranty policy and see what isn't covered... That's usually what could go

This is what I am talking about.

Are these likely to fail due to mileage or age ?

GolfBravo

To the list above you could probably add crankshaft pulley, drive belt tensioner, ignition coils, shock absorbers, exhaust (including manifold and gaskets).

These items do wear out with high mileage.

Also check the windscreen (likely scratched beyond repair).

I mean, all of the above could probably last another 100K miles, but you really need to have them checked. Also consider how long you're likely to keep this car.

forgotmyname

Cars are pot luck. Even new ones break down.

But in general anything modern will cover 150,000 miles without anything other than basic servicing.
Petrol models maybe starting to show signs of wear but diesels should still be good for another 50,000 before the engine starts to use a bit of oil.

The issue is not knowing the previous owners/drivers and see how they treated it.

Visiting the inlaws they live in an OAP scheme and one snowy day we visited and the mobility cars were sitting there ticking over with the heaters going and them making no attempt to clear any snow off the cars. Just left them running until it had all melted off.

We popped out 20 minutes later and the cars were still defrosting whilst the owners sat inside the bungalows.
Cars theives could have had a field day.

Yet when it hits the market someome pays a premium because its got a low mileage. Its done the equivalent of 100,000 miles+ on the engine and ancillories. But everything else looks unworn with mayb 20k on the clock.

Then a few years down the line the owner wonders why it needs a new engine with well under 100,000 miles showing.